A Good .54 Round Ball Shooter
#1
A Good .54 Round Ball Shooter
Bought a TC .54 FireHawk not long ago. The gun may have never been fired. Been working up loads for the gun. It does not like the 250 grain SST in the red Harvester sabot. Tried loads from 90-120 grains of Grafs 2F blackpowder, Pinnacle 3F and Pyrodex. Never got a good 77 yard group.
Discovered the gun likes to shoot .530 round balls. Last time out the gun was sighted in at 50 yards using round balls and 100 measured grains of sifted 3F Pinnacle powder. Fired some really good 50 yard groups.
Distance: 77 yards
Gun: TC .54 Firehawk
Scope: Weaver Grand Slam 3-10 (set on 4X)
Bullet: .530 round ball
Patch lube: GoJo hand cleaner
Powder: Black MZ and sifted 3F Pinnacle
Cap: Winchester #11 magnum
Fired three rounds using 100 grains of Black MZ without swabbing. This is the high group. The ball was seated very hard on the powder.
Fired three more rounds using 100 grains of sifted Goex 3F Pinnacle without swabbing. The ball was seated very hard on the powder and whanged one time with the ramrod.
The patch was smeared on the down side with GoJo hand cleaner. It was blotted lightly with a paper towel. There was no build up of crud near the muzzle and no crud ring. Once started, the ball loaded very evenly all the way down.
The group fired using 3F Pinnacle measures about 7/8".
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/DSC01567.jpg
We could never safely shoot center fire rifles on that range because of the lack of barriers. The range is being upgraded with proper barriers at 77 yards, 125 yards and 225 yards.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/DSC01549.jpg
Discovered the gun likes to shoot .530 round balls. Last time out the gun was sighted in at 50 yards using round balls and 100 measured grains of sifted 3F Pinnacle powder. Fired some really good 50 yard groups.
Distance: 77 yards
Gun: TC .54 Firehawk
Scope: Weaver Grand Slam 3-10 (set on 4X)
Bullet: .530 round ball
Patch lube: GoJo hand cleaner
Powder: Black MZ and sifted 3F Pinnacle
Cap: Winchester #11 magnum
Fired three rounds using 100 grains of Black MZ without swabbing. This is the high group. The ball was seated very hard on the powder.
Fired three more rounds using 100 grains of sifted Goex 3F Pinnacle without swabbing. The ball was seated very hard on the powder and whanged one time with the ramrod.
The patch was smeared on the down side with GoJo hand cleaner. It was blotted lightly with a paper towel. There was no build up of crud near the muzzle and no crud ring. Once started, the ball loaded very evenly all the way down.
The group fired using 3F Pinnacle measures about 7/8".
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/DSC01567.jpg
We could never safely shoot center fire rifles on that range because of the lack of barriers. The range is being upgraded with proper barriers at 77 yards, 125 yards and 225 yards.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...r/DSC01549.jpg
Last edited by falcon; 09-14-2013 at 12:43 PM.
#2
That is some outstanding groups there. That Pinnacle when I used to shoot it, loved roundballs. And that load you have worked up should plant a hog. You need to try it and then tell us how well that ball did.